Man arrested after striking local officerRickey D. Millikin, 59, was arrested on Sunday after he allegedly struck a woman in the face multiple times, choked her, threatened to kill her and attacked the Atkins police officers who tried to arrest him. Millikin, whose bond was set at $25,000 by District Judge Don Bourne, sat with his shoulders slumped forward during felony bond hearings on Monday inside the Pope County Detention Center. According to a police report, Millikin was arreste...

by
BY TRAVIS SIMPSON
simpson@couriernews.comThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Full Senate to vote on guns in parked carsLITTLE ROCK -- A proposal requiring private employers to allow their workers to keep handguns locked in their cars is heading to the Arkansas Senate for a vote. The Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday endorsed the bill that would prohibit employers from preventing employees from keeping their handguns locked in their vehicle on the employer's parking lot. The measure would apply to employees with a concealed handgun license who keep the gun l...

Prosecutor files charges against judgeLITTLE ROCK -- A special prosecutor assigned to the case of a Fifth Judicial District judge arrested in January and cited for DWI filed formal charges Friday. Jeff Rosenzweig, defense attorney for Circuit Judge William "Bill" Pearson, said the special prosecutor, Jason Barrett of Little Rock, filed charges Friday in Johnson County Circuit Court. They included three misdemeanors and one violation: Count 1, fleeing, a misdemeanor. Count 2, reckl...

Police: Local man shot at best friendGeorge A. Acosta, 26, insisted the pending aggravated assault charges against him were bogus because his friend, who was also in the courtroom, is who he allegedly shot toward. "The person I shot is right there saying nothing happened," Acosta said during felony bond hearings on Wednesday. "This makes no sense. It never happened." Acosta, whose bond was set at $15,000 by District Judge Don Bourne, was arrested in relation to an incident which ...

by
BY TRAVIS SIMPSONsports@couriernews.comThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Sheriff: Buttermilk deceased name releasedPope County Sheriff Shane Jones released the names Tuesday of the individuals involved in the attempted murder/completed suicide on Buttermilk Road in Northern Pope County on Friday night. Jones said the deceased has been identified as Jeremy Ray Lattin, 39. The shooting victim has been identified as Sandra M. Lattin, 34. The sheriff said Tuesday he did not have an update on her condition in a Little Rock hospital. According to previous report...

by
Courier staff reportsThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Bill would bar video depicting cop's deathLITTLE ROCK -- The Arkansas House has approved a bill that would prohibit the release of video or audio that depicts the death of a police officer in the line of duty. Rep. Jimmy Gazaway proposed the bill, saying that the death of a Trumann police officer in 2011 continues to make the rounds on the internet. House members approved Gazaway's bill on a 94-0 vote. Gazaway told House members that the plan offers only narrow limits on the state's F...

Hearing for Circuit Judge Pearson to be rescheduledA hearing in Johnson County for a circuit court judge, originally scheduled for Friday in Clarksville, will be rescheduled after a special prosecutor was assigned to the case. Jeff Rosenzweig, defense attorney for Circuit Judge William "Bill" Pearson, said Friday that Jason Barrett of Little Rock had been named the special prosecutor for the case by special judge John Langston. Rosenzweig said the three spoke by telephone this week and determi...

Report: Students enter home, aim gun at womanTwo Arkansas Tech University students were arrested on Thursday after allegedly pointing a gun at a woman during a botched burglary. Samuel B. Welsch, 27, and Jordan E. Seawood, 21, appeared in felony bond hearings on Friday, where their bond was set at $50,000 by District Judge Don Bourne on contemplative charges of aggravated residential burglary. Detective Ricky Hendrix with the Russellville Police Department testified the pair were arreste...

by
BY TRAVIS SIMPSON
simpson@couriernews.comThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Two jailed after alleged burglaryTwo men were arrested Thursday morning and face charges of aggravated residential burglary, according to reports. Officers from the Russellville Police Department (RPD) responded at approximately 11:20 a.m. Thursday to the 800 block of South Denver Avenue in reference to a burglary involving a weapon. While en route, police officers determined two suspects fled the area in a white passenger car. Officers located the vehicle and conducted a tra...

by
Courier staff reportsThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Arrests made in motorcycle theftsCourier staff reports DANVILLE -- Yell County Sheriff Bill Gilkey announced Tuesday the arrest of a Rover man and a 16-year-old Plainview juvenile male in connection with the Thanksgiving Holiday theft of two motorcycles from the Growley Road area. According to Chief Deputy John Foster, Matthew Thomas, 25, was initially taken into custody on Feb. 7 by Sheriff's CID investigators on outstanding warrants from the State of Ohio for failing to app...

by
Courier staff reportsThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Governor sets execution dates for 8 inmatesLITTLE ROCK -- Arkansas' governor on Monday set execution dates for eight inmates over a 10-day period in an attempt to resume the death penalty after a nearly 12-year hiatus, even though the state lacks one of three drugs needed to put the men to death. Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson signed proclamations scheduling double-executions on four days in April for the eight inmates. The quick schedule appears aimed at putting the inmates to death b...

Judge reschedules two murder trialsDANVILLE -- A Yell County Circuit Court judge last month rescheduled two murder trials for May for three suspects in the death of a Havana man in October 2016. According to the 15th Judicial District Prosecuting Attorney's Office, Circuit Judge Jerry Don Ramey set a jury trial in May for Michael Gargis, 28, of Danville who did not appear during the recent hearing. Sean Mathis Tyra, 23, of Havana and Robert Michael McCowan, 19, of Russellville ...

Man allegedly entered home, raped womanATKINS -- Larry W. Waltrip, 31, was arrested by Atkins Police after allegedly entering a woman's home and sexually assaulting her. Waltrip, who was released from prison on Tuesday, is a registered sex offender and has four previous felony convictions, including failure to register as a sex offender and failure to appear. According to a police report provided by the Atkins Police Department, Waltrip entered the victim's home uninvited at approx...

by
BY TRAVIS SIMPSON
simpson@couriernews.comThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley